


First Time Redux

by RovingRomy



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:27:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9405659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RovingRomy/pseuds/RovingRomy
Summary: An alternate take on my fic "First Time".





	

Keyleth takes off her circlet, placing it on the vanity in the corner of the room and rubbing at her temples with her fingers. It’s been a long day, and she feels the exhaustion start to seep into her bones and muscles. The magical transportation, traveling to Ank'Harel… her conversation with Kash…

She grimaces, feeling guilty about how that had gone down. It’s not like she’s surprised that once she finally decided to let herself be happy, the universe threw a curveball at her. She definitely could have handled it better. Now she just feels bad. The way she handled it was unfair. To Kashaw, because he deserves to know that she’s with Vax now, that there’s no chance for them to be together. And to Vax, because he deserves for her to be his, 100%, and for everyone to know it.

The thought of Vax makes her smile, giggling when she catches her reflection in the mirror and sees how giddy she looks. It’s strange, this feeling of happiness. Even in the lighter moments she’s had with Vox Machina, it always felt like there was a shadow hanging over it, a weight on her shoulders that just kept getting heavier and heavier. It’s not as though it’s disappeared completely, but now that she has Vax, now that she’s gotten out of her own way and stopped punishing herself so much, allowing herself to be happy, it feels so much lighter, like it’s not weighing her down so much that some days she feels like she can’t keep going.

It’s totally unfamiliar, but she loves it.

Almost as much as she loves him.

She thinks of the night before as she runs her fingers through her hair, working out the few knots that had formed during the day. She had never been so close to anyone. They hadn’t _done_ anything, just held each other, dozing in and out of sleep, exchanging lazy kisses in between.  But it was so intimate, she felt like she had layed herself bare in front of him and been accepted and loved.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a quick, quiet knock on her door. “Come in,” she calls. A second later the door opens just the slightest bit and Vax slips into the room silently. He closes the door behind him and turns to look at her, a soft smile on his face, before moving toward her.

When he reaches her, he wraps his arms around her waist, leaning his chin on her shoulder and meeting her eyes in the mirror. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she replies, leaning back into his arms. They smile at their reflections for awhile, enjoying the warmth of the embrace. Vax kisses her cheek, nuzzling his nose behind her ear.

“I did something bad today,” she says, biting at her lip guiltily.

“What?” he asks, looking at her with a concerned expression.

Her eyes drop to look at the surface of the vanity, where her circlet rests next to her hairbrush and her utility belt, not wanting to look in his eyes. “Kashaw asked me out today when we were walking to the Sun Tree.”

She expects him to tense up, or to do _something_ to indicate some sort of anger or jealousy, but his arms maintain their gentle hold around her, and when she looks back into the mirror his expression is merely curious. Keyleth realizes then that he trusts her, that he’s not upset or jealous because he knows she wouldn’t do anything that he would need to be jealous about. That knowledge leads to a warm feeling spreading through her body, and she has to fight against the smile that’s threatening to spread across her face.

“I tried to tell him that you and I are together now. That we’re happy. And, you know, turn him down,” she knows that she’s babbling, but saying it all out loud she realizes that she was even more ridiculous than she’d realized when she was just thinking about it. “But, I don’t know. I didn’t want to hurt him and I was trying to find a way to say it without doing that, but I couldn’t, so I…” she trails off, feeling stupid and silly.

“You what?” Vax asks, still looking at her curiously.

“I kind of just… shoved him through the tree.”

Vax laughs, burying his face in her shoulder to smother the noise. Keyleth frowns, her brow furrowing as she wonders if she should be offended, but then he looks back up at her, his face covered with such warm affection. “Yeah. That sounds like something you’d do.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” He looks genuinely perplexed, like it hadn’t even occurred to him to be upset, like he couldn’t imagine why anyone would be upset by what she did.

“I didn’t actually turn him down. And I didn’t tell him about us.”

He straightens up, pulling her closer, his expression changing to one of understanding. “I get it,” he says. “I haven’t told Gilmore, either.” He smiles, but it’s a guilty sort of smile, filled with an almost grim bashfulness. “I mean, I told him awhile ago that we couldn’t continue the… thing we had, because I was in love with someone else. But I didn’t tell him it was you. And I could have told him today that we’re together. I should have, so that he doesn’t find out some other way. But I didn’t. Because I didn’t want to hurt him. Especially considering how much he’s done for us.” He takes a deep breath, letting it out in a quick huff. “It’s… hard.”

“Yeah,” she replies quietly. “It is.”

He smiles at her, gazing at her reflection, before turning his head to press a kiss to the spot where her neck and shoulder meet. Keyleth sighs, her eyelids drooping, so he does it again and again, leaving a trail of kisses up her neck.

She turns in his arms, resting her head on his chest, her ear against his heartbeat, letting the sound soothe her. Vax runs his fingers through her hair, and the sensation lulls her into a sleepy state.

“Tired?” he asks, his voice little more than a whisper.

“Mmhmm,” she confirms, burrowing into him, enjoying the warmth of his arms around her.

They stay that way for a long time, reveling in the feeling of finally being able to be together like this, in being able to have the time to just stand together, quietly holding each other, even just for a little while.

“Help me with my armor?” Keyleth eventually asks, turning so that Vax can reach the laces at the back of her bodice. She feels him step close behind her as he gathers up her hair, sweeping it over her shoulder. His fingers trail lightly between her shoulders as he moves down to start working on the laces, and her nerves jump to attention, goosebumps forming on her skin and her heart speeding up.

His fingers work slowly, revealing the skin beneath the leather. She can still feel him behind her even after he’s finished, his eyes on the pale skin of her back, and she shivers when his fingers run down her spine, from the base of the neck to the small of her back, punctuating it with a lingering kiss between her shoulder blades.

He remains behind her for another moment, his hands on her hips, before he moves away. Keyleth’s breath is coming faster now, hard, heavy, and loud in her ears. She turns to watch Vax, who’s sitting on the edge of the bed, kicking off his boots. He had taken his armor off before coming to her room, so all he has to do is remove his shirt. She watches him, her eyes following the lean muscles of his body as he pulls the shirt over his head, tossing it to the side.

She’s not so tired anymore.

Her nerves start to jangle as a surge of adrenaline goes through her, the decision made. She’s never been so sure of anything in her life, but that doesn’t stop the slight tremor in her hands as she walks toward Vax, knowing the importance of the moment and how badly she wants to make it perfect.

She approaches with slow footsteps, stopping to stand just a few inches in front of him. He looks up at her with a soft smile, but there’s a hint of confusion in his eyes as he looks at her, eyeing the way her hands are still clutching the leather bodice to her chest.

Dropping to her knees, she takes a deep breath, looking into his eyes. The confusion melts into a more dazed expression, seeming to understand the determination on her face.

His eyes stay on her face as she slowly lowers the bodice, biting her lip as she drops it to the ground. He continues looking into her eyes as she reaches forward, taking his hands and placing them on her sides, high on her ribs, her skin tingling as his cold hands meet it, still warm from being clothed. She leans forward, placing a light whisper of kiss to his lips, her hands clutching at his cheeks. Vax’s eyes remain closed when she pulls away. He lets out a heavy breath. “Keyleth-”

“I love you,” she says, her thumbs stroking his cheeks.

His eyes open. “And I love you,” he replies, his hands steady against her skin. “And I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to do just because you think-”

“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do,” she says, her voice quiet but firm. “I’ve wanted this for a long time. And I’ve already wasted so much time.”

He smiles at her, his eyes watching her carefully. “Kiki, we have time. We don’t have to rush things.”

“We might not. We might not have time. And I don’t want to regret anything. I’m not doing this to rush things. I’m doing it because it feels right.”

And it does. Despite the way her heart is pounding and her fingers are trembling, nothing has ever felt so right. She’s sure, more sure than she’s ever been. Certainty isn’t a feeling she’s with which she’s particularly familiar, but in this moment she knows it in a way she never has before.

“You’re sure?” he asks.

“I’m sure.”

He must hear the certainty in her voice, because his eyes finally start to move from her face, down her body, to look at what she’s bared to him. He takes in a sharp shaky breath as his eyes take her in, his hands finally moving, one gliding up, moving back and flattening against her shoulder blade. The other moves forward, lifting for a quick moment before his fingertips brush against her breast, stroking the swell at the top. His touch becomes firmer as he traces his fingers lower, gliding along the underside before cupping it with his hand, his thumb coming up the circle the rosy bud of her nipple.

Keyleth gasps, her hands sliding down his neck to clutch at his shoulders. Vax surges forward and pulls her into a frantic, messy kiss. His lips skim down her neck, stopping to suck at the spot where her pulse throbs wildly. Her hand drift down his chest, moving away from him briefly to remove the pin holding her skirt closed, letting the material fall to the floor, leaving her completely bare before him.

His eyes widen when he pulls back, moving slowly over her, like he wants to memorize every inch of her. She can practically feel his gaze on her, like fingers stroking her skin. The sensation of his hand, heavy against her skin as it slides down her back, makes her eyes drift closed.  He continues, his fingers gliding along the curve of her backside, pulling her forward, into his lap.

Her legs open as she slides forward. She can feel how much he wants her, the hardness pressing against her sensitive flesh. A groan leaves her as she presses her face into his shoulder, rolling her hips against him a few times, jolts of pleasure shooting through her. Vax’s moan rumbles out of his throat, his fingers digging into her skin as he pulls her further into him, adding pressure to her movements. They get lost in the way they move against each other, gasping and sighing at the sensations. Keyleth peppers kisses along his neck, feeling the way her body is heating up, like fire is rushing up her spine.

Vax’s hands pull her tightly against him, and her thighs tighten around him instinctively as he lifts her, turning to lower her to the bed, pressing her into the mattress. He leans in, kissing her, his lips moving over hers languorously.

Just as she’s congratulating herself on, for once, not being so nervous and awkward as to ruin everything, Vax’s hand jumps to her calf. He pulls his lips away from hers, wincing as a quiet, “ow, ow, ow” hisses through his teeth.

She grasps at his cheeks with her hands, desperately trying to figure out what she had done wrong. “What? What is it?”

“It’s okay,” he says, his grip on her leg tightening as he pulls at it. “You’re just digging your heel into me a little too hard.”

Keyleth gasps, her hand flying to her cover her face in embarrassment. She looks down, seeing that her foot is pressing - _hard_ \- into a still healing wound from their fight in the Feywild. “I’m sorry,” she groans, covering her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Vax responds, laughter in his voice as her moves her leg, bringing her foot to rest a little higher against his back. “Kiki,” he repeats when she doesn’t respond. “It’s okay.” He grasps her hand, pulling it away from her face.

Her expression is embarrassed and guilty, her eyes a bit glassy. “I’m just a little… excited.”

His smile widens. “I’m pretty excited, too.”

The embarrassment fades as she looks into his eyes. She loves the way he looks at her, like she’s the most precious, the most important thing in the world. The way his eyes soften, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. It’s not something she’s ever really experienced before, being the focus of such attention, being close to someone and knowing that she’s passionately, completely, unreservedly loved. It makes her heart flutter and tears spring to her eyes.

A look of concern takes over Vax’s face as he strokes at her hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head. “Absolutely nothing is wrong.”

He looks doubtful, but she pushes up to kiss him, taking his face into her hands and pulling him down as she sinks back into the bed.

Vax’s fingers stroke the skin between her breasts, and as they move down Keyleth’s fingers start to tremble again. She wants this to be perfect, and that frequent fear that she’s going to mess up, that she’s somehow going to ruin everything, starts to creep up in her mind, the doubt seeping into her muscles and bones, making them stiffen as her fingers start to shake even more.

He pulls back, looking down at her, his brow creasing in concern as he reaches for her trembling hand, holding it in his and pressing a light kiss to her knuckles. “Kiki. Really. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” she says, hearing her voice shake. “I really do,” she tries again, making her voice firmer. “I’m just… I’m nervous. I- I’ve never done this before.”

“I know,” Vax says, his smile soft and comforting.

“I’m nervous,” she says again. “But I want to. I really want to. I just… I want it to be perfect.”

“It already is.” The love in his eyes takes her breath away, and she cant stop herself from leaning up and capturing his lips with hers.

He chuckles when they separate, his smile shaky. “This, um… this is kind of new for me, too.”

“Oh,” Keyleth says, blinking in surprise. “I didn’t realize- I mean, I thought you had-”

“I have,” he cuts her off. “Just… never with someone I love.”

Her eyes fill with tears as Vax swoops in to kiss her.

“I love you,” she whispers, pressing her forehead to his. “I _want_ you.”

Vax grins, his hand stroking her side slowly. “Tell me if I do something you don’t like, okay?”

She nods, and he leaves one last kiss on her forehead before moving lower, his lips brushing over her pulse, her collar bone, and licking into the hollow of her throat. Her fingers tangle into his hair as he moves lower, his lips trailing over her stomach. She can feel her skin flushing as her heart starts to beat faster, her skin feeling like it’s on fire every place he touches her. Her body is hot, wonderfully hot, energy and warm pleasure coursing through her.

Vax positions himself between her thighs, running his hand down her sternum, between her breasts, and over her stomach. Keyleth’s eyes drift open as he leans down, his gaze on her. “Is this okay?”

She nods, but clears her throat, trying to get her voice to work, and says, “You… you don’t have to do this. I mean-” she motions at him with her hands, trying to illustrate what she means. “ _This_ ”.

A low chuckle leaves his throat. “Keyleth,” he says. “You have no idea how much I want to do this.”

“Oh,” she replies, blinking her stunned surprise as a small smile lifts the corners of her lips. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asks again, wanting to be sure.

Keyleth leans up on her elbow, just a bit, so she can run her hand over his cheek. “Okay,” she says in a soft, but definitive voice.

He smiles at her, somehow soft and affectionate and self-assured and cocky at the same time. It’s almost devastatingly sexy, and she gets lost in his eyes, not noticing his hand moving until she feels his fingers running over her, just the slightest bit, but enough to elicit a quiet moan as her eyes drift shut and she falls back to the bed, one of her hands sliding into his hair as the other clutches at the blankets beneath her.

“You are so beautiful,” Vax whispers, his breath dancing over the skin of her thigh, giving her goosebumps. Finally, she feels his tongue against her wetness, licking several long strokes from bottom to top, before sucking her clit into his mouth.

The sensation, the incredible feeling of pleasure, hits her hard, travels like a shot from her clit to low in her stomach, and she gasps loudly, a spark jumping from her fingers, the shape of a flame forming before quickly vanishing, startling both of them. Vax pulls away from her, his stunned face framed by her thighs. She lifts her hand from the mattress to reveal four small singed holes in the blanket beneath them. Keyleth stares down at her hand in shock. “I… I didn’t know that would happen.”

She shifts her gaze to Vax, who’s staring at her hand, his jaw slack. “Vax?” she asks, her voice tentative, shaking a bit. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

He doesn’t answer her, instead taking her hand in his, pulling it to his mouth to press hot kisses to her fingers.

“Vax?” she says again, her voice going from nervous to confused. “What-?”

“Do I look like I mind?” he asks, his breath sweeping across the tips of her fingers, still wet from his kisses, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Oh, but the blanket-”

“It’s a magic blanket in a magic mansion. It will disappear tomorrow and the next time we come back it will be good as new,” he says, his eyes intent on hers.

“Oh. Yeah.” She’s happy he’s not upset, but she kind of can’t wrap her head around the way he’s looking at her, the reaction he seems to be having to what she had initially thought was an embarrassing, even scary moment.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,” he says, crawling up the bed toward her, “but your magic, how powerful you are… it’s kind of a turn on.”

A surprised giggle escapes her as he braces himself above her. “Really?”

“Really,” he responds emphatically, leaning into kiss her. “I’m not going to complain about your magic finding its way into the bedroom.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she says, still laughing, feeling dizzy, hazy, and giddy in the  moment.

The kisses he drops on her cheek are playful, his laughter vibrating against her skin, making her giggle even more. She’s still giggling as Vax moves back down her body, his lips brushing over her breasts on the way.  When he’s back to his spot between her legs, he looks up to her one more time for confirmation. She nods, the remnants of her giggling leaving a happy smile on her face. She reaches out to stroke his cheek, and he turns her head to leave a kiss on her palm. “Just to make sure,” he says, his voice light and almost silly, “I’m not going to catch on fire or anything?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “But now that I know what it feels like I can at least make sure I can pull away before I hurt you.”

“Okay. Good,” he says before leaning in, swiping his tongue over her carefully. She takes a deep breath in at the feeling, tangling the hand that had been resting at his cheek into his hair. Her eyes drift closed as he begins to trace slow circles around her clit, two fingers pushing into her gently.

It’s a sensation she’s not used to, but one she immediately decides she likes _a lot_. She squeezes at his fingers, pulling them deeper, eliciting a deep groan from Vax. The way it rumbles against her flesh sends flashes of the most wonderful tingling feeling through her. Her back rolls into an arch, pushing herself against his mouth, his fingers moving deeper as they thrust into her.  

One of Vax’s hands moves up to her hips, pushing her back down to keep her still. Keyleth whimpers, her eyes opening as she looks down at him.

The vision of him between her thighs, his head moving as he laves at her, his eyes watching her, is one of the most striking and sexy things she’s ever seen. It makes her ache and throb for him even more. She wants to see him better, so she places her free hand, the one not grasping at his hair, beneath her, pushing herself up on a shaky arm.

Vax pulls away from her, alarmed. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” she says, her voice breathy and panting. “I just… I want to see you.”

His eyes darken at her words, and he lowers his head again, his touch remaining slow, but with even more enthusiasm than before.

As the pleasure coils tighter and tighter low in her stomach, Keyleth’s hand tugs roughly at Vax’s hair, making him moan loudly against her. It’s the vibration against her clit that finally undoes her, the tension inside of her snapping as the bright, burning hot sensation shoots through her, coursing through her fingers and toes. She tosses her head back, crying out, barely having the presence of mind to pull her hand away from his hair, clutching at the blanket beneath her as a flash of flame jumps up from each hand and then vanishes just as quickly.

Her arms give out and she collapses back against the bed as the sensations begin to fade. After a few moments she starts to catch her breath, opening her eyes and looking down at Vax, where he’s resting his cheek against her knee, his eyes wide, looking at her with and expression of wonder. “Holy shit,” he says, panting. There’s a dazed softness to his gaze, and his lips start to lift into a lazy, affectionate smile.

She reaches out a still shaky hand, and runs her fingers through his hair before cupping his cheek. “I promise I’ll learn to control that better.”

“Hey, you don’t have to rush. It does wonders for my ego.” His smile widens, stretching across his face, and Keyleth chuckles.

He moves up her body, dropping kisses over her skin, nuzzling the underside of her breasts, then presses his forehead to hers. “You taste good,” he whispers.

Keyleth lets out a shocked giggle, burying her face in his shoulder as she blushes crimson. She feels his finger trailing from the hollow of her throat down her chest, between her breast, and continuing the line down her stomach. “I always wondered if you blush all over,” he whispers into her ear, before nipping at the lobe, making the embarrassed giggle turn into a low moan.

He presses light kisses all over the side of her neck as her breathing and heart beat start to slow down. She opens her eyes as she turns her head to kiss him, a long, slow kiss that makes her head even more hazy and the world around her wonderfully warm and glowy.

Her hand trails down his back, the very tips of her fingers tucking into the waist of his pants. Vax thrusts against her thigh softly, a slow roll of his hips, but he pulls back, breaking the kiss to look down at her with a plaintive expression. “We can stop if you want.”

Keyleth shakes her head adamantly. “I don’t want to stop.” Her fingers push at the waist of his pants. “I want these off.”

His eyes search hers, looking for any hint of hesitation. “Are you sure?”

“Vax,” she says, her fingers stilling against his waist as she brings up a hand to stroke his cheek. “I’m sure. We’ve already wasted enough time. I’ve wasted enough time. I love you. I want you. I want this.”

He nods, watching her with open, overwhelming affection as she smiles at him, her hands moving down to unlace his pants. She pushes at them with her hands and feet, and when they reach his ankles he kicks them off, over the edge of the bed, settling against Keyleth, between her legs, sighing as they press together, skin to skin.

Her hands are shaky again as her fingers touch his chin, but she’s pretty sure that now it’s more from the adrenaline than the nerves. “I’ve never done this before, so tell me if I do something wrong okay?”

One of his hands folds around one of hers, bringing her fingers up to his lips so her can press gentle kisses to them. “There isn’t really a way to this wrong, Kiki.”

“I really doubt that,” she says with a nervous laugh.

He presses her hand to his chest where she can feel his heartbeat, steady and strong, if a bit fast, under her fingers. He brings his hand back up to push a stray strand of hair back, stroking her cheek. “Tonight is all about you, okay? Just do what feels good.”

“But I want it to be good for you, too.”

“It will be,” he promises, dropping a lingering kiss on her forehead. “It _is.”_

“Okay,” she responds, biting her lip. “But you will tell me if I’m like, digging my foot into a wound or burning you or something, right?”

Vax chuckles, his eyes shining with affection. “I promise, if one of those things happens, I will tell you.”

“Okay,” Keyleth responds with a quiet, happy finality, a joyful smile blooming on her face.

“Okay,” he repeats, his smile mirroring hers.

His hand clutches at one of her thighs, bringing it up higher against his ribs as he slowly pushes into her. It’s a completely foreign sensation to Keyleth, but not at all a bad one. She had thought it would hurt, but it doesn’t. It is a bit overwhelming, though, everything she feels for Vax and all of the thoughts she’s ever had about this act mixing together with the feeling of him pressing her open, and a heavy breath leaves her as he settles inside of her.

“Are you alright?” Vax asks, his breathing heavy and his voice tense.

She can feel the tightness of his fingers against her thigh, hear the tension in his voice, but she’s too dazed to really register it. She nods her head, gripping at his shoulders. “Please,” she breathes out.

He groans, his forehead falling to her shoulder, as he begins to move. Long, slow, deep thrusts that make Keyleth moan as she arches into him.

“Fuck,” he says into her ear, his breath grazing her skin and making her shiver. “You feel so good.”

“So do you,” she says. She wants it to sound sultry and sexy, but it comes out as a whiny whimper. Vax doesn’t seem to mind, though, the sound coming from him in response practically a growl as he nips at her collar bone.

Keyleth feels like her movements are awkward and clumsy, but she catches on to his movement, her hips rolling in rhythm with his.

She feels so full, almost overwhelmed, and she tosses her head back, her neck arching, closing her eyes against the tears that are forming. As close as she felt to him the night before, it was nothing like this, nothing like this feeling of being so wanted, so loved, giving herself to Vax and having him give himself to her.

When she opens her eyes, Vax is watching her, his gaze soft and loving. “You’re the most beautiful thing in the world,” he whispers.

She’s able to blink back the tears, keeping them from falling, but her voice cracks when she says, “I love you so much.” The fingers of one hand sweep over his cheek as the other hand moves up his back to settle against the scar between his shoulder blades, matching her fingers to the shape and pressing down. “I love you so much.”

He doesn’t take his eyes off of her face as he brings up his hand, closing it over hers where it still lingers by his cheek. He kisses her knuckles and then twines their fingers together, his grip firm, helping to ground her, as he presses their joined hands against the mattress next to her head.

Keyleth has never experienced anything that feels so good, both physically and emotionally. She almost can’t believe how good it feels, the sensation of Vax inside of her, how much pleasure the way their bodies moving together is creating. Her heart is pounding, so full of love, for once sure that she’s with someone who will never leave her side. The way he holds her close gives her a feeling of security, so unlike everything she’s known .

She can feel the trembling in Vax’s limbs as he tries to keep his desperation at bay. She’s feeling it, too, the tension inside of her growing. Her clit throbs, aching for attention. “Vax!” she gasps out, trying to ask for what she needs but unable to get the words out.

As though he’s reading her mind, his hand is suddenly between them, his finger stroking over her with a sure, determined touch. It’s all she needs, the dam breaking as waves of pleasure wash through her body. She cries out his name so loud she’s sure everyone in the mansion has to have heard it. But she doesn’t care, can’t care, too focused on the feelings, starting at the point where they’re still joined and shooting through the rest of her body like a bright, blinding light.

The way she pulses against him is enough to trigger it for Vax, his hips bucking hard into her, his body stiff and trembling as he lets out a long cry, muffled by her shoulder.

Keyleth is still feeling the heat flowing through her, and she tries to pull her hand away from Vax’s, not sure that it’s going to happen again but not wanting to hurt him if it does, even through the haze of pleasure. His grip on her hand is firm, though, almost desperate, and when the flame jumps from her hand, a quick flash of heat that disappears in an instant, she can feel it scorching his skin. He doesn’t seem to notice, though, as he groans through the end of his orgasm, the fingers of his other hand digging so hard into her shoulder that she thinks it might bruise.

His breath is heavy in her ear, his weight covering her in a way that feels comforting rather than smothering, and she presses her hand into the skin of his back, trying to keep him there, squeezing her eyes shut as she silently hopes that they can be like this, this happy, forever.

Vax lifts his head, and Keyleth feels his lips against her face, leaving light kisses at the corner of her eye, over her cheekbone, and along her jaw. She lets out a long breath as he pulls back to look at her, his free hand brushing some hair away from her face. “Are you okay?” he asks, his concern and worry written all over his face.

She nods, swallowing hard, not sure her voice will work. He still looks worried, though, so she opens her mouth, a scratchy, hoarse, “I’m wonderful,” coming from her mouth, her lips stretching into a smile.

He smiles back, continuing to watch her as his fingers stroke through her hair. Keyleth’s legs start to shake from the strain of holding on to him, and despite how much she wants him to stay where her is, Vax moves off of her, rolling on to her back, finally letting go of her hand.

She moves with him, onto her side, so she can tuck herself against him. Her hand catches his to examine it as he starts to stretch his fingers, wincing at the twinge of pain. There’s a light burn on his palm and smattered along his fingers, not nearly as bad as she had feared, but still enough to upset her.

“Vax!” she says, her voice taking on an almost admonishing tone, despite the guilt she feels. “Why didn’t you let my pull my hand away?”

He shrugs, seeming completely unconcerned. “I didn’t want to.”

“Vax-”

“It’s not that bad. Really.”

She ignores him, taking his hand in both of hers as she closes her eyes, calling up her healing magic and sending it through his hand, healing the damage caused by her fire.

“That really wasn’t necessary,” he says when she looks back up at him.

“Yes, it was.”

“Kiki-”

“I’ll figure out how to control it. I promise,” she says, cutting off his attempts to comfort her.

“Well,” he responds, smirking. “I guess that means we should practice. A lot.”

“Vax!” she cries out, squeezing his hand. “This isn’t funny! I hurt you.”

“Kiki,” he starts again, moving onto his side so he can face her, taking her face in his hand. “Really. It’s fine. It’s okay. Maybe you don’t remember, but I’ve never minded the burns you’ve given me.”

The way he says it, that she’s “given” him the burns, confuses her. “This is different from the last time. There was a reason for it then.”

“There was a reason this time, too.”

“What?” Keyleth asks, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“We’re in love,” Vax says simply.

That he thinks of it that way brings tears to her eyes. It’s such beautiful way to think of it, that it happened because of what she feels for him, how strongly she feels for him, how they feel for each other, and it calms her guilt and worry.

“And like you said,” he continues. “We’ll figure out how to control it. And like _I_ said, we’ll have some fun practicing to do that.”

She giggles, burying her face in Vax’s chest as laughter shakes her body. He wraps his arms around her, and she can feel the way his chest vibrates from his chuckle. They stay like that for a long time, wrapped around each other, Keyleth breathing Vax in, feeling more content than she ever has in her life.

“Vax,” she says after a long while. Her voice is soft, and she’s not even sure if he’s awake, his breath fanning out evenly over her cheek.

“Hmm?” he responds, a gentle rumble that she feels more than hears.

“I love you,” she says, certain of her words in a way she doesn’t think she’s ever been.

“I love you, too,” he says, without hesitation, and it makes her feel warm and secure, wrapping around her like a blanket of love and safety as she drifts off to sleep.


End file.
